


The Shaping Of Muad'dib

by Merfilly



Category: Dune - All Media Types, Dune Series - Frank Herbert
Genre: Gen, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-18
Updated: 2014-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-12 22:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1202980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glimpses of Jessica and the love she had for her son as he grew on Caladan</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Shaping Of Muad'dib

**Author's Note:**

  * For [opalmatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/gifts).



> There are bits and pieces of the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson novels used here, as well as concepts gathered from the Miniseries and the original Movie. In other words, this is very hybridized from all aspects of Dune as presented over nearly half a century.

_It is said that the fate of the universe resided in the choice of a single woman. That woman, a Bene Gesserit, put the grief and love of her Duke ahead of her Order's wishes, and produced a son, thus disrupting generations of careful breeding._

_That son was Paul Atreides, heir of Caladan. History will remember him as the Muad'dib for all time. -- from the writings of Princess Irulan of the Corrino House._

Jessica held her infant son close, watching as his eyes tracked with purpose and his fingers grasped at her hair falling around him. Already, life had proven fraught with danger for them, but now, safely back on Caladan, she could take the time to savor these moments. Leto was pleased; despite Jessica's refusal of marriage, leaving that as a diplomatic option among the houses. While Paul could not replace his first son, Leto could at last let go of the broken futures, and focus on this new life in his House.

No matter what came of it, Jessica would hold these moments, filled with her love and resolution, against the storm.

* * *

_No man is shaped wholly by the affairs of men alone. Into each male life, a woman's hand will be felt. For the Muad'dib, that hand was more than felt in passing. That hand, belonging to the Lady Jessica, crafted the foundation that led Paul Atreides of Caladan to become the Emperor of all humanity. -- from the writings of Princess Irulan of the Corrino House._

"Paul, walk with me," Jessica called to her son. The sturdy boy, fully three years old now, hastily put down his toy barge and came to her side, lifting one hand up to take hers. These walks, accompanied by men at arms despite Jessica's proven prowess in self-defense, had become moments for the son and mother to share points of their days. 

"Mother, why is father so busy now?" Paul asked as they moved into the corridor outside of his playroom. 

Jessica considered the careful nuance on the words. Leto was always busy, but Paul had noted the uptick in personal interaction with the House business. She was very pleased that her careful Bene Gesserit teachings were already showing in how Paul handled himself. It was one boon to ease the sacrilege which she had committed in creating him at all, let alone teaching him the Ways. 

"There are factions within the Landsraad that have been agitating for action from Caladan beyond what was done for House Vernius," Jessica told him. "Which has serious repercussions, no matter what, because of the blood ties owed to House Richese, their rivals."

"Father's mother was of the Richese, but father studied on Ix with Prince Rhombur," Paul recited. 

Jessica nodded, refraining from adding anything concerning the Concubine Princess Kailea, or the now deceased Victor, Paul's own half-brother. There would be time for the more violent details of political intrigue later. "Because of this, and because there are some who feel House Corrino has been imprudent, many have come to speak to your father. He is well-known and highly respected."

Paul looked up, eyes that seemed too mature for the rounded toddler features, meeting Jessica's as she looked down. "I will be respected," he pronounced. "But I do not think I want many to know me, if it means being so busy."

Jessica smiled; her son might be benefiting from the Bene Gesserit training and from Thufir Hawat's Mentat training, but under it all, he was still a boy. "We shall see how the future unfolds, my son.

* * *

_In all of my years at the court of Muad'dib, I admit that I have never heard whisper of criticism for the Lady Jessica of Caladan, late a Bene Gesserit. Whether this is from prudence among his followers, love for the Reverend Mother of the Fremen, or true loyalty to the late Duke's Concubine, I may not say. -- from the writings of Princess Irulan of the Corrino House._

Jessica sat in the bench seat of the wide window, watching the rain wash down over the first planet that had ever felt like home to her. She let her ears tell her when her son, all of five years old now, entered the room and crossed the floor. His motion was near silent, with only the politest of scrapes to show he was approaching.

At five, she could see so much potential in him, and yet there were times when Leto was barely aware of the boy's birthday, so driven by plans with Prince Rhombur, or answering to discrete demands by the Landsraad to assist in CHOAM maneuvers. 

"You are sad today," Paul said, climbing up onto the seat to settle at its far end.

Jessica nodded; there was little point in denying such.

"It is because my father is often away, and more often too busy when he is home."

"Astute, but pointed," Jessica told her son. "You miss him as well."

"Will it always be like this? Is this what I will inherit?" Paul asked, questioning the future. "Sometimes, I dream of places far from here, places dry and arid with the lack of all our oceans and rain. I wonder, do these dreams speak of the future, mother, or just of my desire for things to be different?"

Jessica listened to those words, and wondered for herself. Her Sisterhood had been apprehensive of the thought of a boy-child in this generation of the Atreides lineage. Was Paul attuning to the subtle whispers of the universe, of fate? Could it be that Jessica had brought about the one who….

….No. She clamped off such thoughts as maudlin and self-inflating. "It is difficult to know just what a dream means. But we shall hope that your father finds it possible to spend more time with us, before you must attend him as his heir."

"Once that comes to pass, will he marry you?" Paul asked with a wrinkled brow.

"We must never rule out the possibility of a marriage, even if he has named you his body and House heir, Paul," Jessica told him. "It is enough for me to know he does love us, as much as duty allows."

Paul pressed his forehead to the glass of the window, letting its coolness serve as a focal point, away from the argument he wished to have on his father's love. His mother did not deserve to hear his young anger. She suffered enough.

"I hope when I have a child, that child is wrapped in all of my love, always," he said softly.

Jessica reached out, and took his hand, but did not answer. Her son squeezed her fingers, then gave up his seat to come to her lap, despite how big he was now.

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I you, no matter what we face ahead of us, Paul."


End file.
